Transformed wind chimes: Nature-Symphony 35

Nature-Symphony 35 (Night stroll among a bare mountain's crags) — A challenging and at times awe-inspiring piece that, for full effect, needs to be listened to at 3dB higher level than a sensible normal level. The moon is shining, casting unfamiliar shadows from the various crags, and everywhere has lost its familiarity. Occasional flickerings of distant lightning eventually become strong enough to transiently cast additional, stranger shadows and unexpected silhouettes, and one can't help feeling a slight nervousness as the storm gets closer…

Here we have two Davis Blanchard wind chimes, each of which has a particularly strong musical potency, together with a bamboo chime, and, primarily to add a suitable coup de théatre in the final climax, a thunderstorm approaching and eventually getting a little too close for comfort.

The bamboo chime I chose as the necessary contrasting element is a large-side-of-medium-size one with good resonance and pitches that fitted in nicely. I deployed it in two layers, which add not just contrast of timbre but also a good deal of dynamism, often adding drama to dramatic metal chimes climaxes.

The original field recordings for the metal layers are: Debussy Bells https://freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/686909/, Twilight: https://freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/686234/ , and the thunderstorm recording is at https://freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/686816/ .

For detailed information about the Davis Blanchard chimes, please see https://www.philipgoddard.com/shop/store-2-windchimes.htm, just scrolling down a little.

Sound sources used (each separately recorded):

Layer 1: Davis Blanchard Debussy Bells (8 tubes, tuned to the whole-tone scale, heavily emphasizing the tritone and augmented triad)

Layers 2+3: Davis Blanchard Twilight (8 tubes, tuned to a weird bunch of pitches, which give potent intervals and chords, notably augmented triad, minor major seventh, minor triad, major seventh)

Layers 4+5: (solo bamboo chime): Indonesian ornamented chime, larger-side-of-medium (longest tube c. 42cm) (imprecisely tuned, but keying in remarkably well with the metal chimes)

Layer 6: approaching thunderstorm in later part of the work

I made the metal chime recordings for this work on 24 February 2017, on the rough slope just below Hunting Gate, which latter marks the highest point of the Hunter's Path, high up on the north side of the Teign Gorge, Drewsteignton, Devon, UK. The bamboo chime recording dates from 21 November 2023, on Piddledown, just a little above the Hunter's Path, a bit further west, quite near Castle Drogo. The thunderstorm was on afternoon of 9 May 2023, recorded from my second-floor bedroom window in Exeter city centre (with city centre sounds edited out). Geolocation given is for the metal chimes.

Advisory
To get the best out of this, with its mass of detail, listen with high-grade headphones, and, as already noted, listen at 3dB above a sensible normal level.

Making a later recording in same session, of both the Debussy and Twilight chimes. Arrow points to recorder.

Recording the bamboo chime; the recorder is very low down, off the picture to bottom and a bit to right, facing steeply up to the chime.

Techie stuff:

The recorder was a Sony PCM-D100, with two nested furry windshields, on a Zipshot Mini tripod (metal chimes) and shorter Aoka Mini tripod (bamboo chime).

Post-recording processing was to apply EQ in Audacity to correct for the muffling effect of the windshields; for the bamboo chime I applied background and mic wind noise reduction

Deployment of layers is as follows:

Layer 1: half-speed, making it an octave below original — acoustic: moderate back of cathedral;

Layer 2: half-speed, but further reduced pitch to total an octave plus a fourth below original — acoustic: back of cathedral;

Layer 3: half-speed, but further reduced pitch to total two octaves plus a fourth below original — acoustic: back of cathedral;

Layer 4 (bamboo): half-speed, making it an octave below original — acoustic: middling foreground in cathedral;

Layer 5 (bamboo): reduced speed to give pitch reduction of an octave plus a fourth below original — acoustic: back of cathedral;

Layer 6 (thunderstorm): no speed change — acoustic: moderate back of cathedral.

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